Crosby focused; Turris gloating after Super Bowl

PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby admits it can be tricky to stay focused on the games at hand in the final days before the Olympic break.

“It’s a challenge for everybody, not just the guys heading over,” said the captain of both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Canada’s Olympic hockey team. “For guys going on a three-week break, too. Everybody for different reasons but you really have to make sure you’re focused and paying attention. Everybody wants to finish strong whether you’re going to the Olympics and you want to play well there or if you’re going on a break.”

As he walked out of the arena after the morning skate, Crosby was carrying a box that appeared to contain some Olympic paraphernalia. Crosby feels it’s okay to think about the Games of Sochi as long as players can also stay sharp in the NHL games of this week.

“It starts to creep up in your mind the closer you get, I think the main thing is to make sure your game is in order, and you’re playing well– and make sure you’re ready that way,” Crosby said.

The Penguins are sending seven players to various Olympic hockey rosters, but also four off-ice Olympic participants, chiefly general manager Ray Shero, an associate GM of the USA team and Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma, head coach of the Americans.

Interestingly, Bylsma said it’s his own concentration powers that most concern him this week.

“I worry about it more for myself than I do them,” Bylsma said. “I remember in 2010 (Vancouver) thinking about it more for the players than for myself. And they didn’t have a problem with that focus.

“Now I’m in different shoes. And a day like (Sunday) was 80 per cent on the Olympics so I worry about it more for myself and my focus than I do the players and the team.”

On the Senators, only Erik Karlsson (Sweden) and Milan Michalek (Czech Republic) are Sochi-bound, but others are making plans to get away once Saturday’s matinee against the Boston Bruins is over, launching the Olympic break.

Head coach Paul MacLean doesn’t seem concerned about focus getting away from his players with a busy schedule this week – after Pittsburgh, games against St. Louis, Buffalo and Boston.

“They’re all professional and they know what’s at stake around the league,” MacLean said. “Every game is important going into the break and I think everyone is looking forward to getting to the break but I don’t think they’re distracted by it until it gets here.”

According to winger Bobby Ryan, the best part of the finale against Boston is the start time, even if it is another of the afternoon games that have plagued Ottawa this season.

“I’m just happy it starts at 3 and not 2, because 2 o’clock’s a nightmare for this team, “Ryan said. “The Carolina game started at noon, we played great until 2 o’clock and then we let in three goals at the start of the second.”

RYAN WON’T WATCH

Don’t expect Ryan to tune into Team USA’s hockey games in Sochi. After being left off the Olympic roster, Ryan is headed to a European destination for some rest.

“Where I’m going there won’t be a whole lot of coverage on the hockey,” Ryan said. “I’ll check in on the internet, but that’s about it.”

ENOUGH OF WILSON

Ryan and Kyle Turris are good pals, but in a tweet during Sunday’s Super Bowl, Ryan joked that the longer the game went on, the less he liked Turris.

Turris, of course, is a huge fan of Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson, who attended the University of Wisconsin, as did Turris.

For weeks, Senators players have been debating the athletic merits of Wilson versus Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers. Ryan and Senators captain Jason Spezza are huge fans of Kaepernick. Wilson? Not so much.

But Turris was all smiles after Wilson had his way with the Denver Broncos in a 43-8 romp. Ryan was turning a deaf ear.

“I wasn’t a fan of either team, I just wanted Turry’s love affair with Russell Wilson to end. Because it’s embarrassing,” Ryan said, smirking. “That was really the only thing I was rooting for. But it was a brutal game.”

Ryan says that while Turris is a “pretty quiet individual,” and therefore not annoyingly noisy, he drives Ryan a bit crazy with his statistical research.

“He’ll look up a stat and tell you what Russell Wilson did at Wisco – I don’t care what Wilson did at Wisco, turn the page.”

“He’s got a little air in the tires (since the rout),” Ryan said of Turris. “I’m going to try to deflate him a little bit.”

All in good fun, which the Senators had while watching the Super Bowl en masse at a Pittsburgh restaurant.

“We’ve had this discussion for the past week, who would you rather have Kaepernick or Wilson,” Turris said. “I’m a pro-Wilson guy, he does a great job, he manages the game, he doesn’t make any mistakes and he comes through when you need him. He’s clutch.”

While Wilson and Turris attended Wisconsin at different times, Turris enjoyed from afar watching Wilson take Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl.

PHILLIPS SKATES

Injured defenceman Chris Phillips skated Monday in Ottawa, but is not expected to join the Senators as their road trip veers west to St. Louis.

Forward Mark Stone, who is with the team, is skating but still not ready to be on the active roster. Stone is a possibility for the Blues on Tuesday, but more likely to play against Buffalo Thursday or Boston Saturday. Phillips is also a possibility for one or both of those games, according to coach MacLean.

Forward Stephane Da Costa returned to the lineup against the Penguins Monday while enforcer Matt Kassian came out.